Psychosis, Trauma, and Ordinary Mental Life
Michael Garrett
American Journal of Psychotherapy 2016 DOI: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2016.70.1.35 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Argues that psychotherapy should be accepted as a treatment for psychosis, challenging the view that schizophrenia is a genetically determined brain disease unresponsive to psychological treatment. Proposes that psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions are meaningful expressions of unbearable psychological pain following adverse life events, rather than symptoms disconnected from ordinary mental life. |
Abstract
Psychotherapy has gained wide acceptance as a primary treatment for nonpsychotic psychological disorders but has yet to find the same acceptance in the treatment of psychosis. One reason for this is the idea that schizophrenia is a genetically determined brain disease unlikely to respond to psychological treatments. A second reason is the difficulty most people have in relating the symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations and delusions to their own mental processes. This paper relates the manifestations of psychosis to ordinary mental life, and describes how psychotic symptoms arise as meaningful expressions of unbearable psychological pain in the aftermath of adverse life events.